29 May 2012

If you're like me you are logging in to different
sites all day long. When that prompt appears in your browser asking if you want
it to remember your password it's very tempting to click on Yes, so you don't
have to remember it or type it in again. You might even set your browser to
automatically remember your passwords every time you create a new username and
password. Whenever you visit that site again your browser automatically
completes the login details for you - no more trying to remember your password
- easy!

Beware! Having your browser remember your passwords isn't
as secure as you might think. Your
passwords are stored on your computer and there’s nothing stopping someone
viewing a list of all your passwords just by accessing your browser settings; by
someone using a separate utility to access them; or if Malware gets onto your
computer. Some browsers are more secure
than others….

If you're using Firefox you can set a master password, which provides an extra
layer of security, but are still ways of getting to the password list.

Internet Explorer and Google Chrome don't offer a master password feature, but your
passwords are encrypted and only decipherable with the Windows user password
that was in use when the password was created. (That’s the password you enter on the first
screen that appears when you start up your computer – unless you have chosen
not to have a password!). If someone gets your Windows user
account password then they have access to your saved browser passwords. There are utilities which
can decipher Windows passwords, so make sure you have a strong
Windows password.

Safari is the most secure browser because, unlike the
others, you cannot see the stored passwords.Safari stores your passwords in a ‘secret’ file that’s a bit harder to
find.

While researching this post I came across two sites
that give instructions on how to access the password lists on all of these
browsers!

If you’d prefer not to have your browser remember your
passwords, most internet security suites offer password managers (like Norton
Symantec Identity Safe) where your logins/passwords/credit cards/frequent flyer
numbers can be stored securely. This means the only login and password you need
to remember is the one for your security suite's password manager. Once this is
provided any logins on websites are completed for you. They can also auto-fill
online forms that you use regularly.

Another option is a separate Password Manager –
either on your computer or in the cloud - for storing your individual
login/passwords so you only need to remember one master password.Unless you only ever use one computer at home
I’d recommend an online/cloud based password manager.Then you’ll be able to access your passwords
at home, work, anywhere, no matter what type of computer/mobile device you
use.The best also give you a
synchronised, local copy of your password database on all of your computers and
mobile devices, so you don’t have to worry if the password database in the
cloud goes down. If you’re worried that
the Password Manager might not be safe – don’t worry – they don’t actually have
access to your passwords.The database
of your passwords is created by your computer encrypting the passwords and other
personal data before uploading a copy to the cloud.Because the data was encrypted on your computer,
the password manager is not able to unlock it – only you can.

There are plenty available, but the one that regularly
tops the Best Password Manager lists is

Lastpass - There’s a free version (for
all major operating systems, browsers and iPad) as well as a premium version
($1 per month), for an extra layer
of security and using it on multiple systems. Lastpass is the easiest to use - automatically adding your login/password
to a website as soon as you arrive at that site - no button-clicking required. It can
also analyse your existing passwords for weaknesses and generate really secure
passwords for any new logins; and there’s an option to automatically delete
passwords stored by your browser. A local copy of your passwords and personal data
can be stored on all your mobile devices and personal computers.

Watch this video about Lastpass from my all time favourite Techie:

ONE LAST COMMENT:You might think the easy way out is just to
have the same password for everything and just remember that.What happens if one of your accounts gets
hacked – you’ll have to change your password for every other site where you have
created an account!However, say your Facebook
password is compromised and you have a different password for all your other
sites, you just have to change that one password.

23 May 2012

If you’ve been to an Officeworks store lately
you’ll probably have heard their PA messages announcing that you can now access
the internet for free within their store.How does that work?Officeworks have established a Wi-Fi hotspot
within their stores.

A hotspot is a location that offers a wireless
access point where you can connect mobile devices (laptop, smartphone, tablet)
to the internet.Hotspots can be found in airports, cafes, libraries,
coffee shops, hotels, and other public places.Although some venues charge for access, the majority offer it free to
entice customers to their business.

Wi-Fi hotspots are great if you’re travelling
or maybe you’d like to get some work done in your favourite café, rather than
your office.A Wi-Fi hotspot is easy to
connect to and allows you to do anything you’d normally do on the internet from
your home or office.

How do you find a Wi-Fi hotspot?Look around when you’re out and you’ll
probably see signs all over the place –or visit http://www.freewifi.com.au/index.htm
for a directory of Australian hotspots.

The
basics - how do you connect to a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

1.Open your
device and search for wireless networks.

2.Connect to the
applicable wireless network (ask the staff for the network name/s).

4.Click
CONNECT, or you’ll find instructions for setting up an account (if required) on
the portal.

5.You should
be redirected to your homepage and you’ll now be free to browse the internet,
send/receive email etc.

However, if it’s easy for you to access a
Wi-Fi hotspot, then it’s also easy for anyone else, and sharing a network with
complete strangers can cause some security issues.

How
do you connect SAFELY to a Wi-Fi Hotspot?

When you display available connections on your
laptop (or smartphone or tablet) you’ll see a list of ‘secure’ and ‘unsecure’
networks.The venue will let you know
which are their networks.Choose a
secure option – look for WPA2.This means
that the venue will need to provide you with a password/security key to access
their network.However, this just means that you are safe
from people who aren’t on the network.Other people at the hotspot can see what you’re doing because they are
logged on with the same password.So,
what can you do to protect yourself?

1.Use a firewall

A firewall protects your
computer from unauthorized access when you are connected to a network. Your firewall should be on at all times, but it’s
especially important when you’re using public Wi-Fi networks. In Windows 7, go
to your Control Panel and
click on Windows
Firewall. This window will show whether your Windows Firewall
is activated or not.If you have
internet security software that includes Firewall protection, which replaces
the Windows Firewall, it will also be indicated in this window.

·Turn off Network
discovery, which makes your computer harder to be seen by others
on the network.

3.Careful what you do on a public network

Try not to open any sensitive
files, and avoid financial transactions if you can. The usual security
precautions apply – anytime you have to provide personal details or a credit
card online, make sure the website begins with https://, indicating the site is secure and all transaction data is
encrypted.If you are using Internet
Explorer, look for the padlock at the right had end of the address bar.

What’s
the risk?

Besides someone else at the hotspot being able to view what you’re doing
on your computer, there are other, more serious, risks.A rogue or ‘poisoned’ hotspot refers to a
free public hotspot set up by identity thieves or hackers for the purpose of intercepting
any information being sent over the Wi-Fi network. These rogue hotspots are
usually unsecured Wi-Fi networks that mimic the network you think you’re
connecting to.It’s most common in
hotels, and the hotel often doesn’t know it’s happening.A hacker in another hotel room can intercept any
data on the hotel’s wired or wireless networks and can easily attack unsecured
devices.The key here is always use secured networks.

Wi-Fi Hotspots can be very useful when you’re travelling, or if you need
to connect to the internet away from your home or office – just make sure you
do it securely.

21 May 2012

A few weeks
ago my husband thought he’d be clever and switch his phone to vibrate so it
wouldn’t disturb a group I was hosting in the adjacent room.It wasn’t the phone that disturbed us five minutes
later, but my husband screaming when the phone rang.He had left the phone next to the kitchen
sink, where it had vibrated itself so violently it moved across the bench and
into the sink!Unfortunately, the sink
had a bowl of water in it, and of course, that is where the phone landed.Luckily I knew what to do and the phone
survived.

Then, this
morning I got a call from a good friend who told me her son was playing a game
on her phone yesterday and left it outside when he came in.She didn’t realise until this morning when
she couldn’t find her phone.The problem
was – it rained last night – she wanted to know if there was anything she could
do to save the phone? There sure is…..

If you drop
your phone in water it’s not the end of it – it can be saved!

White rice
method

1.Get it out of the water!

2.DON’T TRY TO TURN IT ON

·iPhone:Make sure it’s turned off – hold down the
power button and home button until it powers off.Then remove the SIM card.

3.Remove the battery, SIM card and SD
card and don’t put them back in until the end of the entire drying process.

4.Gently towel dry the phone to remove
as much visible moisture as you can.Dry
the battery, SIM and SC card too.

5.Put the phone and battery in a ziplock
bag of uncooked white rice (or a sealable container) – remove all the air and seal for at least five days
to get all of the moisture out.Put the
container/bag in a warm place to help it to dry out.

Silica Gel
method

1.Instead of rice you can also use
several silica get packs (like DampRid) in a ziplock bag and let the phone sit
in it for at least two days – or longer.

2.Then put the phone near a warm fan
(try using your computer's exhaust fan) and let it dry out even more. Let the
phone heat up slightly and dry for about 6 hours.

After
trying either of these methods:

1.Allow your phone to cool

2.Turn on the phone (you may need to
plug it in - be careful and make sure its 100% dry otherwise you're taking a
risk of your phone catching fire)

TIPS:

·Don’t
use a hair dryer to dry your phone – it can damage the circuitry

·For
an iPhone:The last step is to connect
to your computer and go to iTunes to do a complete system restore.

·If
you have an iPhone 4 you can also remove the two Phillips head screws on either
side of the charging port and slip off the back to allow you to dry it out
better.

·If
your phone doesn’t work, try a new battery before you buy a new phone.

There’s one
last option – something new…

XO Skins
Aqua Dry Bag is designed to absorb moisture and save wet devices.You can use it for phones, iPods and
cameras.You seal the device in the bag for
at least 72 hours and it will pull the moisture out of it.It’s claimed to be more effective and quicker
than using the rice method.It’s only
$15 (plus postage), so could be worth having around just in case.It’s not available in Australia yet, but it
can be ordered online.

I can't guarantee that these methods will work on your phone - but it's worth a try before you go an buy a new one. Good Luck!

17 May 2012

Lately I’ve noticed that, according to
Facebook, some of my friends are watching some very strange videos!Do you know how the new Socialcam app works
with Facebook?Socialcam is a smartphone app that you can use
to take and share videos on sites like Facebook and Google+.If you click on a Socialcam video link on Facebook
you are taken to a page where you accept the Socialcam licence when you click
on ‘OK Watch Video’.From then on, any
Socialcam video you watch is automatically broadcast to your Facebook Timeline.There are other video sharing apps around
that share what you view on Facebook, but the problem is the type of videos on Socialcam - they have not been screened or edited, and are
often ‘Click-bait’ - videos with crazy titles and icons that don’t really
indicate what you’re about to watch. For
example, ‘How to Steal 23 MacBook Pros’, or ‘Giant snake eats security guard’ –
I couldn’t bring myself to watch that one!
Often they aren't personal videos someone has uploaded, but the most sensational videos off YouTube that have just been rebranded as being 'shared with Socialcam'.

I discovered Socialcam when one of my sons came
home from a play with a friend and told me about a video they’d watched of a “really
fat man shooting a gun” (he was more concerned that I’d be mad at him calling
someone ‘fat’).It turns out they were
looking at the screen when the mum was on Facebook and they wanted to see what
the funny video was – the title was ‘Try not to laugh’.

Most of these videos are of questionable
content, most not what you want your children seeing, and these images are
definitely not what you want appearing on your Timeline.Do you really want a potential employer
looking at your Facebook page and seeing that you’ve been watching video of a
man beating up his girlfriend?

So, to prevent your children accidentally
watching something you don’t want them seeing, or to stop yourself the
embarrassment of explaining why you were watching a topless woman in a car,
stop sharing Socialcam.Here’s what to
do…

1.Go to Facebook and on the left hand column
under apps double-click Socialcam

2.﻿Once
in the Socialcam app itself, in the upper right hand corner, choose Settings.

3.In Settings, scroll down to Auto Sharing and unclick both the
Facebook options.

4.Where you’re asked Who can see this activity choose Only Me

5.Click SAVE

If you want to keep sharing videos, Socialcam has
today added a link where you can remove a video from your Timeline; and if you
want to get rid of Socialcam completely there’s a link to uninstall it.

I’m not against sharing videos on Facebook, the
problem is that everyone knows what you’ve been watching – it should be up to
you who you choose to share with.

On Monday I posted about the GS1 GoScan - an app for your smartphone that allows you to easily scan food products and view nutritional, allergen, and other information about the product.

I've just had an update on the GS1 GoScan from GS1 (the not-for-profit organisation who has developed the GS1 GoScan app). They have just launched a website www.goscan.com.au, where you can register your interest in the app, and stay updated on the latest news. If you or your family are affected by allergies please register your interest in this wonderful app.

If you'd like some more information on the GS1 GoScan take a look at the videos on YouTube.

15 May 2012

As if there weren’t enough apps around – looks what’s coming
later this month…..The Facebook App
Centre!

This means that, instead of searching through iTunes or
Google Play for Facebook apps, they’ll all be in one central location for you
to examine and buy.It will contain
thousands of apps for use solely with Facebook, both free and to buy, with more
being added all the time.You’ll be able
to access them through your iPhone, iPad or Android devices.

There will be user ratings and comments on each app, and they’ll
be organised into categories, just like the iTunes store and Google Play.

Once it’s released I’ll give you more
information on what’s available and how you access it.

14 May 2012

Approximately
1-2% of Australians have a food allergy, including 1 in 10 children, and some
of them will experience a life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis). About 10 people die each year in Australia from an anaphylactic reaction. Some will grow out of their food allergy, but
those with peanut and tree nut allergy will most likely have it for life.My eight year old son had his first
anaphylactic reaction to peanuts when he was 13 months old, and it has affected
what our family eats ever since.

Australia has
the highest prevalence of food allergy in the world, and while it is
devastating when you or your child are first diagnosed, living with a food
allergy is manageable if we have an allergy aware community.

This week is
Food Allergy Awareness Week, which aims to promote and develop the awareness of
food allergy amongst Australians through education, research and ongoing
support.

If you or
your child has a food allergy, or you want to support someone who has a food
allergy, there are lots of resources available.I’ve put together a selection of
my favourites:

Coming later
this year is the GS1 GoScan - an app for your smartphone that will make it so
much easier to safely buy food.Using
your iPhone or iPad (still waiting for news of an Android app), you scan or
type the barcode of a product; which is then checked against a database of all
products, provided by the manufacturers.You are then presented with a Categories Screen where you can choose
what information you need on that product – Allergens, Ingredients, Nutrition
and more.You can even set up GoScan to
alert you when a product contains peanuts, or a particular allergen – an alert message
would be displayed if a product containing that allergen is scanned.

Be a MATE - Making Allergy Treatment Easier - support those with food allergies

04 May 2012

Most functions you use your mouse for can be accessed via the keyboard, so there’s no need to take your hands off the keyboard when you’re typing. Some of these shortcuts are only accessible with these keyboard combinations, or actually take longer with the mouse.

Here's some you may find useful....

And here's some to use while you're on the internet....

If you'd like to print a copy to keep next to your keyboard, you can download a copy from my Stuff page.

02 May 2012

You take a photo of your
kids and want to send it to your parents – easy – email it… two, three photos – email’s still fine. But, what if you’ve been on holiday and want to
send your photos to two sets of grandparents, your sister and best friend? You could post them on Facebook (do your
parents even use Facebook?) – but do you really know who can see your family
photos? You could upload them to an
online photo sharing site (that can be sooo slow to upload) or set it up on a
File Sharing service (but everyone may have to have that software). What about the video of your child performing
in the school musical? Your phone has a limit on the size of videos it can send
and don’t even think about emailing that, unless you want a nasty email back –
when the video finally gets through! Or,
how about a 40 page assignment you need to send to your teacher?

I’ve got a solution… Kicksend is a really easy way to send large
numbers of photos, videos or files via the internet, mobile phone or from your
computer.

2.Add the email
addresses of your family and friends who you want to send to. You can even create groups of emails, so when
you want to send some photos to your mothers group, for example, you just need
to select Mothers Group from your list of recipients and the file will go to
everyone in that group.

3.You can run
Kicksend from their website or, if you take lots of photos with your iPhone you
can download the Kicksend app and send photos and videos directly from your
iPhone (Android app coming soon)

Once it’s set up, sending
files it ridiculously easy

1.Select the files
(photos, videos, documents) you want to send (maximum 150 MB from the website
at a time, no limit on phone app), drag them over to the Kicksend window

2.Choose who
you want to send them to

3.Send

With the free version you
have a limit of 1 GB each month – that’s about 500 photos. If you use it a lot you can pay for
extra. You can also download the Desktop
app (for Windows and Mac), which means you have access to all the photos,
videos and files stored on your computer. There’s also no limit to the size of the files
you send using the desktop app. I’ve
used Kicksend to send an entire computer manual to a client. Before Kicksend my only alternative would
have been to deliver or post it – which also means I’ve saved on paper and
printing costs.

On the other end – the recipient
doesn’t have to have Kicksend – they will receive an email with a link to the file. They then have three days to download it. However, if they have Kicksend on their
desktop the file is automatically downloaded for them; if they have the mobile
app they will get an alert and they’ll be able to view the file on their phone
as well.

Regarding privacy –
Kicksend is more of a delivery service than file storage. They only store your files for a short time so
they can be accessed by those you’ve sent them to, and then they are deleted. Your photos, videos and files are only
accessible by those you have sent them to.

There are other ways to
send large numbers of photos, videos and files, but if you or the recipients are
not that tech-savvy – Kicksend is by far the easiest one to use.

About Me

I love finding new ways that technology can help me manage every part of my life. Techie Mum is where I provide tips and answer techie questions, provide information and reviews on the types of tech gadgets that families use, new apps, and recommendations and advice on how to get the most out of all your family's devices.